Keeping Young Athletes Healthy and Strong

In today’s age of health and fitness, more and more

kids are involved in sporting activities. Although being

part of a football, soccer or Little League team is an

important rite of passage for many children, parents

and their children could be overlooking the importance

of proper nutrition and body-conditioning needed for

preventing injuries on and off the playing field.

“The majority, if not all, sports are good, provided that

the child prepares appropriately,” says Dr. Timothy

Ray, a member of the American Chiropractic

Association’s Council on Sports Injuries and Physical

Fitness. “Without proper preparation, playing any sport

can turn into a bad experience. There are structural

and physical developmental issues that need to be

taken into consideration before children undertake certain

sports.”

Highly competitive sports such as football, gymnastics

and wrestling follow rigorous training schedules that

can be potentially dangerous to an adolescent or

teenager. The best advice for parents who have young

athletes in the family is to help them prepare their bodies

and to learn to protect themselves from sports

related injuries before they happen.

“Proper warm up, stretching and weight-lifting exercies

are essential for kids involved in sports, but many kids

learn improper stretching or weight-lifting techniques,

making them more susceptible to injury,” says Dr.

Steve Horwitz, an ACA member from Silver Spring,

Maryland, and former member of the U.S. Summer

Olympic medical team. “Parents need to work with

their kids and make sure they receive the proper sports

training.”

“Young athletes should begin with a slow jog as a general

warm-up, followed by a sport-specific warm-up.

“They should then stretch all the major muscle

groups,” says Dr. Horwitz. “Kids need to be instructed

in appropriate exercises for each sport to prevent

injuries.”

Proper nutrition and hydration are also extremely vital.

“While an ordinary person may need to drink eight to

10 8-ounce glasses of water each day, athletes need

to drink even more than that for proper absorption.

Breakfast should be the most important meal of the

day. Also, eating a healthy meal two to four hours

before a practice or a game and another within one to

two hours after a game or practice allows for proper

replenishment and refuels the body,” adds Dr. Horwitz.

 

Chiropractic Care Can Help!!

Doctors of chiropractic are trained and licensed to

treat the entire neuromusculoskeletal system and can

provide advice on sports training, nutrition and injury

prevention to young athletes